None of them had. It wasn’t like Arnie not to text or call. Norval was about to leave the mostly empty locker room when Coach Green tapped him on the shoulder. “I noticed Arnie wasn’t here today,” he said. “Anything you want to tell me?” “Nothing I could really say for sure,” Norval replied. “He took some bad hits last game,” Coach Green reminded him. “And Jerome told me about the scuffle in the locker room. I think he was worried someone else would tell me first.” The coach fixed his hard, meaningful stare on Norval. “What?” Norval asked, his resentment rising. Why was watching Arnie his job? “Do you mean I should have told you?” “He got clocked again, Norval,” Coach Green said, frowning. “Didn’t you think I should know that after everything we talked about?” Norval didn’t want to be sanctioned for disrespect, so he tried to control himself. “I told you I wouldn’t spy on Arnie. Don’t you remember?” “He lost consciousness,” Coach Green said.
